I was very interested in Leo Laporte’s announcement yesterday that, going forward, he will only accept listener donations as compensation for his efforts on producing the various shows on the TWiT Network.
A bold move to say the least and one that I admire.
I’m just not sure I can get on board with the concept.
Briefly, when Leo started trying to monitize his efforts on the TWiT Network, he reached out to listeners and asked for donations a la public television and public radio as it exists here in the United States. Donate what you feel, monthly or all at once, in order to support the production of the programing you enjoy.
It was a sound concept and one that, it appears, worked to grow the network to bigger and better things.
Now, with a multitude of various corporate sponsors on board, the TWiT Network is highly profitable and, frankly, making far more money than most ever dreamed a home spun audio podcasting operation could ever take in.
But, honestly, I’m confused as to why Leo would be reaching out to his listeners for his salary and yet asking us to sit through yet another round of Audible.com or GoToMyPC.com ads in order to compensate the other folks at TWiT for their efforts.
Leo does strive to make sure that he only brings the best sponsors to our attention via his podcasts and I respect that effort completely. I just think that he is asking me to deal with the worst of both worlds when it comes to programming sponsorship in order to consume his content.
The PBS model is a fine one that works. The sponsored ad placement model is also a solid model that works very well, particularly on the TWiT network.
Having both somehow feels like double-dipping.
Bottom line: It feels almost like a guilt trip to consume the content of the TWiT network now that I feel so strongly that listening to the sponsored ads should be enough. Leo is the face of TWiT and the primary reason I consume the content produced there. Now that I’m being told that listening and consuming the products advertised on the network isn’t enough, that I must now go beyond that and also sponsor Leo’s salary, well, as much as it is deserved… it also feels like a bit much to ask.
Tags: Podcasting, TWiT
